Tag Archives | Soccer

Eric Cantona first achieved fame playing soccer for Manchester United and France. He was an extremely talented striker, but perhaps is best known for his flying kung fu-style kick at a heckling fan. That's all in the past though, and Cantona has a new career as a budding indie film star. Apparently he's also quite conscious of the fact that there's not much liberté, égalité or fraternité in France or the rest of the world these days, and he knows just how to bring about another revolution: everyone should go to their bank and withdraw all their cash. The system would crash and, voilà, la Révolution! Here he is in an October interview explaining how it works:

If the U.S. earning a draw with England wasn’t bad enough for the Brits, here comes another blow. Another Yankee is trying to purchase one of their beloved football teams Liverpool. Alex Massie writes in the Daily Beast:

If Red Sox owner John Henry’s purchase of Liverpool soccer club goes through, he’ll have to clean up the mess left by its current owner, former Texas Rangers chief Tom Hicks.

This week, John Henry and the New England Sports Ventures consortium made great strides in their attempts to purchase Liverpool football club. For once, an American takeover of a great English institution is being welcomed — but only because it means running the previous American owners out of town. Better the wealthy Americans you don’t know than the ones you do.

That’s because owners of American sports teams have a history of running English football clubs into the ground. Liverpool, the most successful football team in English history, has $450 million in debt due on Friday and this season is off to its worst start in 57 years — thanks, in large part, to its current American owners, former Texas Rangers chief Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Just in case anyone missed it (I know, you're not all soccer fans), President Evo Morales of Bolivia caused a stir last weekend when he kneed a player on an opposing soccer team in the groin and had the misfortune of having his dirty deed caught on video tape:
Here's what Morales had to say for himself:

"The player who kicked me started to insult me and offend me and I very much regret my reaction. I ask forgiveness to the sportsmen, to the players, to the player. But after kicking me, it was another insult, a reaction. Again, I ask for forgiveness. Sport is integration, but later I realized it was a trap."

In addition to the World Cup, this summer featured RoboCup -- an international tournament in which teams of soccer-playing robots square off. The level of play is low, and the game is often unsettling to watch, as when a fallen robot player struggles fruitlessly to right itself, limbs flailing. The hope, however, is that by 2050, a robot team skilled enough to compete against humans will be developed.

Paul the Octopus in his aquarium tank next to a soccer shoe marked with the German flag colors. Photo: Tilla (CC)

You knew the psychic octopus was going to upset a lot of people in its homeland, Germany, if it predicted–correctly–a loss for their team. As AFP/The Local reports, the eight-legged wonder now needs all its supernatural powers to remain in good health:

It won’t come as much of a consolation to heartbroken German fans, but at least Paul, Germany’s now world-famous “Octopus oracle,” has maintained his perfect record predicting World Cup matches this summer…

The “psychic” creature has correctly predicted all six of Germany’s matches and, amid excruciating drama broadcast live on national television on Tuesday, plumped for Spain, causing anguish across the country.

The eight-legged soccer soothsayer was spot on Wednesday, as Carles Puyol’s semi-final header shattered Germany’s dreams of winning their fourth World Cup…

According to daily Der Westen, there have been “a host of comments on Facebook, Twitter … suggesting Paul should be fried, grilled or turned into a seafood salad or paella.

A replica World Cup trophy seized by anti-drugs police in Colombia is made out of cocaine, lab tests have confirmed. The 36cm (14in) statue was found in a delivery crate at Bogota airport.
The crate was in an airmail warehouse waiting to be sent to an address in Spain, airport anti-drug chief Jose Piedrahita said. In another development, a submarine built by drug-traffickers was found in Ecuador before its maiden voyage.
The World Cup replica was made up of 11kg (24 lb) of the drug, mixed with acetone or gasoline to make it mouldable.

It’s not often that the worlds of sci fi and soccer overlap, but the Daily Star reports that former French footie star Eric Cantona (his mega-success at Manchester United led to the terrace chant “Ooh-Ah Cantona”) will be part of the cast on Britain’s classic TV show Doctor Who:

Football legend Eric Cantona is set to inject a bit of Ooh Ah into Doctor Who.

The former Manchester United star is being lined up for a role as an evil alien alongside Time Lord Matt Smith. And producers are hoping the Frenchman might show off some of his famous Kung Fu moves in his baddie part.

Cantona, 44, famously attacked a fan with a high kick during a match against Crystal Palace in 1995.

But since then, the footballer has become a serious actor and had a series of roles, including a part in a Brit flick Looking For Eric.

The Daily Show's John Oliver learns about the rich African culture at the World Cup, like their traditional hand-carved FIFA ballpoint pens. Gotta love that FIFA-only zone imposed around the stadium...